Sandstorms and Pyreflies
by Rhianna-Aurora
Summary: I decided to put all my AuronxRikku oneshots that I've never posted anywhere into one series. The only thing any of these fics have in common is that they are all AuronxRikku. The fics are rated K through M. I'll warn at the start of each chapter.
1. Warrior's Heart

**A/N: This is the first in my series of never-before-posted Auron x Rikku oneshots. This one is my explanation of how Rikku came to have Auron's Masamune in X-2. This one's rated K+. More fluff than anything. :)  
**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Auron, Rikku, Masamune, FFX, or anything of the like. I just borrow them and play every now and again.**

_**Warrior's Heart**_

Auron's Masamune was the last one. The final Legendary Weapon that they needed to acquire before the fight with Sin. It was the easiest to obtain, but they had put it off. After the battle with Yunalesca, no one really wanted to face the end. The end meant that Auron would be gone. He'd go to the Farplane for his well-deserved rest.

Masamune was no ordinary Legendary Weapon. It was said that it was the biggest blade in Spira; that it was the most powerful katana forged by human hands.

Rikku kinda thought it should be harder to get if that was the case. She'd spent over a week chasing those Yevon-be-damned Cactuars around the desert. It had only taken a couple of days to collect the requirements for Masamune. Honestly, Rikku thought it should be _impossible _to get. That way they wouldn't have to face Sin, and Auron wouldn't have to go away.

She liked him a lot. A _lot_ a lot. And she sorta felt like he liked her too ... but they'd never be able to find out. Because Auron was dead. And he had been the entire time she'd known him. She'd fallen in love with a corpse. A _pretty_ corpse, but still, a corpse.No. He would never be that -- a _corpse _-- to her. He walked, he talked, he breathed, he had flesh and blood and bone. And scars. He was just _Auron_. Just a beautiful disaster of a man that she had met at the worst time.

She was trying to form plans with Tidus -- plans to save Yunie, plans to save the world -- when Auron came to her. They were only a few minutes away from Mushroom Rock, where Masamune was reported to be. Funny, they'd just been there a few days ago getting Godhand. And now they were back.

"Rikku." He said her name brusquely and she shot a look in Tidus' direction. He shrugged.

"Y-Yes, Auron?" She didn't bother with the "Sir". It was too stuffy and formal for her liking. Besides, calling her friends "sir" was silly. That'd be like calling Tidus, Sir Tidus. The idea caused her to giggle. Auron shot her a look and she stopped.

"I'd like to speak with you." He shot a look at the blond blitzer over his dark glasses. "Alone."

Rikku's green spirals widened nervously. "Uh, yessir." She followed Auron as he led her to the deck of the airship. "What's up?" she asked when they arrived.

"I'd like you to come with me," he said simply. "To get Masamune."

Rikku's brow furrowed. "Auron?"

"Please." Auron never said "please." How could she refuse?

The airship landed on the only available strip of land in the area. Rikku and Auron had a bit of a hike in store. He didn't say anything at first, and Rikku was nervous.

"Um ... Auron?" she finally began.

He looked at her out of his one good eye. "Hold this," he said, holding out his current blade, the Muramasa.

"Uh, very funny. You never let anyone touch your blades," Rikku said cautiously.

"Hold it." He said it firmly, left no room for argument.

"It's as big as me, you know?"

"Get used to how it feels. It's heavy, so be careful," he said gently.

She took it and her tiny body crumpled a little under its weight. Auron frowned behind his cowl. He hoped that this wasn't a mistake. But Rikku proved to be a quick and skillful learner. He showed her how to swing the blade for maximum damage, and how to carry it without hurting herself or causing her body too much strain. Then, just as quickly, he took his blade back and continued walking toward the statue of Lord Mi'ihen.

Rikku was even more confused, and now, on top of that, she was all _sweaty_ from that impromptu workout.

They finally reached the statue and Auron performed the ritual. The Masamune appeared, just as glorious as all the legends said, and Rikku jumped up and down. "Wow. You definitely have the best weapon," she said, gazing at the sword.

"You do," he said.

Rikku looked at her Godhand warily. "I hardly think that this ..."

He cut her off by speaking softly, almost inaudibly. "Masamune is mine for the final battle with Sin ... but afterwards, I'll have no need for it," Auron said. Rikku looked down. "Look at me, Rikku," he said. She forced herself to look up, blinked back the tears that were forming. "Masamune is a weapon of the heart. It takes someone with a warrior's heart to wield it."

"I understand," Rikku said, even though she didn't.

"I want you to have it, when I'm gone," he told her.

"What? Auron ... I -- I can't take Masamune."

"You can. I brought you here for this. I want you to have it. It's yours." He spoke firmly, never took his eyes from her.

"That's why you wanted me to hold Muramasa. To show me how to wield something that size," Rikku replied. Auron nodded. "But Auron ... I mean ... you just said that only someone with a warrior's heart can wield Masamune. I don't ..."

"You do," he said quietly.

"No. I'm a thief, and a machina specialist, _not_ a warrior," she babbled.

"You may not _be_ a warrior, Rikku. But that doesn't mean you don't have a warrior's heart." He looked at her pointedly. She shook her head in confusion. "Rikku. _I_ am a warrior."

"I know you are, Auron ... Oh. You mean ... _Ohhhh_." She looked up at him. "You mean _you_. _Your _heart. I have your heart." The tears fell freely now, and she didn't even try to stop them.

"Will you take it? Keep it for me, after I'm gone?" he asked.

Rikku looked first at the glimmering blade of the Masamune, and then at the man before her. "I will," she told him through her tears. They kissed for the first and last time, standing there with the heart of a warrior between them.


	2. Rikku's Guardian

**A/N: This one is insanely short ... just under 400 words. Also rated K+. Rikku muses about love and life.**

**Rikku's Guardian**

She sat on the limb of the massive Macalanian tree, contemplating Fate in the calmness of the nighttime forest. She knew that she was young ... so young, and yet, she wanted to know _who_. _Who_ would it be that would be hers forever and ever?

Actually, she had a pretty good idea about who she _wanted_ it to be. In fact, he was waiting for her, even now, at the spring. But he'd made it very clear to her, that if she were to go to him, it would mean that she loved him with everything she had in her.

She was young. Was she ready for that kind of love?

Her gaze flitted in the direction of the spring. Her heart skipped a beat, thinking of the previous night, when the cold and seemingly distant man had confessed all to her, and poured his heart and soul into her open, waiting arms.

He had trusted her that much. The least she could do was trust him back. It wasn't as if she hadn't been in love with him since the first time she'd seen him.

She thought of everything the group had been through since she'd joined them. And she thought of everything he had given up for her sake ... allowing her to join the pilgrimage, stopping in the Thunder Plains when she had been frightened, rescuing her from Wakka's wrath when he'd learned of her heritage.

... Holding her on the airship's deck after Home had been destroyed ...

And last night, as he confessed all to her, and leaned in, as awkward as any teenage boy, to kiss her. It was the sweetest kiss she'd ever had. A lifetime more of kisses like that wouldn't be so bad.

With a sardonic smile, she realized that there was nothing to think about. Hopping down from her branch, she gave Kimahri, who was on watch, a small smile as she ran to the water to meet _her_ guardian.


	3. Memories Remain

**A/N: This one's just a little different for me, as it's written in first-person, present-tense. I hope I didn't get my tenses confused anywhere, that would be embarrassing. Takes place about a year after the events of X-2. ****Slightly angsty fluff here. Rated K+. And a tiiiiiiny hint of some past Nooj/Paine in the periphery on this one.  
**

_**Memories Remain**_

Sometimes I go to the cabin of the airship, and I sit at the bar and ask Barkeep to pour me some sake. I don't drink it ... I never have liked the stuff. It's pretty nasty, to tell you the truth. It's just that I want to smell it. Because it smells like _him_.

I was so stupid and naïve back then. Silly little fifteen-year-old girl. I recognized the look in his eyes, but I took for granted that he'd always be there. I thought that he'd always be around to look at me with that look.

I thought that he'd always be there to watch me as I slept; to tell me in that wonderfully gruff voice of his that he wouldn't let anything bad happen to me … to _any _of us; to pat me on the shoulder and tell me I'd fought well after a particularly rough battle; to let me hold his hand when the thunder got too loud.

I just … took him for granted. Rocks were meant to be constant and forever. He was my rock. And I assumed he'd always be there. Guess that's why they say that thing about assuming, huh? I sure _felt_ like an ass now …

Silly little fifteen-year-old me, I thought I was so cute. I flirted, I teased … gods knew I _annoyed _the living daylights out of him … but I never did what I wanted to do most. Getting Yunie through the pilgrimage was more important than any of that. I told myself, _After we defeat Sin, then I'll make my move_.

But after we defeated Sin, Auron was gone. And there went my whole entire future with him. You know, the future I had all worked out in my head. So much for that.

I mean, I never even got to _kiss _him, which is the thing I wanted most of all back then, when I was a silly and naïve little girl, and dreams were all I had.

Now I'm eighteen … and, well … dreams are all I have now, too. But now it's a different _kind _of dream, a broken kind.

Sometimes I go to Besaid and stare out over the sea, at the spot where Tidus had come back. I wonder if Auron will magically appear there one day, as well. Doesn't he deserve a second chance, too?

I guess he was just ready to rest, after all he'd done.

I guess that means he's truly gone, though I haven't been able to bring myself to go to the Farplane. I don't want to see what I already know. I'm not ready to say goodbye just yet. And going there, seeing him, would mean that I was over him.

I don't think I'll ever be over him.

And I was so mad at him! How could he never tell me that he was dead? I had to find out just like everyone else, in a truly horrible way, after we beat Yunalesca.

And then, even though I knew what was coming … at the end … all I could do was just _stand_ there and watch in horror as he faded away into nothing but sake-scented pyreflies.

Masamune had stayed behind, though. It had clattered to the ground just as the last pyrefly had dissipated. No one objected, and I wanted it, so I took it with me. It's under my bed in the airship's cabin. I taught myself (with Tidus's and Wakka's help) how to fight with it, and I've killed a couple of baddies. Yeah, I'm so awesome.

"Rikku?" Paine's voice breaks into my reverie, as the door to the airship's cabin swishes open and allows her access. I look at her, and I guess my eyes are sad, because she sits down beside me and picks up the glass in front of me. Giving it a sniff, she sits it back down. "Sake again, huh?" she asks in her quiet voice.

"What else?" I say with a sigh.

Paine hadn't been with us, and she'd never known Auron, but she knew the story. And in a way, she could relate better than anyone else. She had lost Nooj ... he hadn't _died_, but he was with someone else now.

Maybe it was worse for her. They'd actually _been _lovers, back in the days of the Crimson Squad. It took a long time to get that information out of her, but finally, she'd opened up to Yuna and I. But maybe it was better for her. She had some good memories, right? Maybe I'd be more peaceful if I'd been with Auron, even if it was only just once. Who knows? Guess I never will.

"Rikku, maybe you should go to Guadosalam." She says it carefully, the same way she always does when she brings up the subject.

I purse my lips. "I'm not ready for that yet," I tell her shortly.

"It's been five years, Rikku," she presses. "That's a long time to carry a torch for ..."

"For a dead guy?" I shoot back.

"For _anyone_," she says simply.

"Oh? And you're so over Nooj?" I retort. It's a low blow, and I immediately feel bad. But I just can't help it. The subject of Auron always brings out the worst in me.

Paine looks down at that, and hurt flashes in her blood-red eyes. "It's not quite the same thing," she says in an icy voice. "I still have to see Nooj, all the time. I have to see him with _her_." She shakes her head in disbelief. "Of all the people ... I mean, _Leblanc_?"

I have to laugh a little then. It _is_ absurd. And three years ago, we'd been sure it would never last. But they're _married _now. And it had killed Paine, but she had gone, as a friend. She had stood with Gippal and Baralai and smiled dutifully as they had said their vows.

Yeah, it's probably harder for Paine. Auron is dead and gone, nothing I can do about that. At least I don't have to watch him walk around with someone else. Someone who isn't _me_.

"Paine, I'm sorry," I say, and I mean it. "You're right anyway. I should go to Guadosalam."

Paine squeezes my hand and smiles sadly. "Do you want me to go tell Brother?"

"First ... I want to go to Macalania. I need to get something," I say.

Paine looks puzzled, but she nods and does as I ask. I walk upstairs to where the beds are and flip on the commsphere next to mine. I tune it to Besaid and hope that Yuna is home.

The sphere flickers to life in Yuna and Tidus' living room, and I see Yunie sitting in a chair, looking lovely and very pregnant, and I smile to myself. She was knitting what appeared to be baby booties. Any day now, and my cousin will have a baby. "Hi, Yunie," I say in as bright a voice as I can muster.

Yuna looks up from her project. "Rikku!" she cries in surprise. "What're you doing?"

"I'm going to Guadosalam," I tell her.

Her hand went to her heart in that familiar Yunie gesture. "Really?" she asks me.

"Yes, really. It's time."

"Well, for what it's worth ... I hope he's not there," Yuna tells me, and I grin in spite of it all.

"Yeah, but that's called wishful thinking, and I'm not allowing myself that any more," I tell her quietly after a pause. "Anyway, I just wanted to let you know."

"Thanks for telling me, Rikku," Yuna says. "And good luck."

"Thank you. I have a feeling it's not luck I'm needing," I say honestly.

"You'll feel better once you've gone." I know she's right. Maybe it seems a harsh thing for her to say, but in all honesty, I'm sure I _will_ feel better after I can put it all behind me. Paine had been right. Five years _was _a long time to carry a torch for someone.

Even if he was _the_ One.

xoxoxox

Paine offers to go with me in Macalania, but I say no. "I need this time for myself. I'll be back later," I tell her as I disembark the airship.

Brother, for all his faults, knew exactly where to land the airship. It was in the middle of one of the only clearings in the forest, where the moonlilies and starflower trees grow abundantly. Here, everything shimmers and sparkles.

Here, Auron had told me that he was falling in love with me. And I had laughed, that silly little girl laugh, and had teased him about it. I never told him that I'd been falling in love with him from the first time we'd met.

I walk a good distance from the airship, so that no one can see me or hear me. I fall to my knees in the silvery-green grass and drop my head in my hands, fully expecting to sob for the first time in five years. Instead, I am just … _overcome _with memories.

_"Rikku, wait!" he had called out to me as I had danced through the fields in my innocent and carefree ways._

_I had turned to him, smiling sweetly. "Yes, Sir Auron?" I stopped, allowed him to catch up with me. It was nighttime, everyone else was back at camp asleep. But I had been mesmerized by the field when we had passed through it earlier that day, and I had wanted to see it in all its moonlit glory._

_Cautiously, almost shyly, Auron had held out a starflower to me. I had taken it and sniffed it, closing my eyes to its unearthly aroma. "What's this for?" I asked him, twirling the flower by its stem._

_He paused for a moment, and then he touched my face gently. "I'm falling in love with you," he told me quietly._

_I think my jaw went slack. I know that I put my hand over his -- the one that was touching my face. And then I did the one thing that I regret to this day._

_I blushed, and then, to hide my embarrassment and shock, I giggled. And I think I broke his heart._

The tears come now, as I remember the look on his face. Crestfallen, dejected. I hadn't meant to hurt him. I was just ... playing the game. The way that I thought it was meant to be played. Stupid me ... if I had only known.

I look up at the sky. From my vantage point on my knees, the sky seems so very far away from me. "I'm sorry," I whisper. "I'm so sorry. If I had known ... I would've told you everything. We could have had that night in Macalania as ours. I could've held you and been with you, and I would always have that. _We_ would always have that. But we don't have _anything_. And it's all my fault."

I stand up, brush the dirt off my knees and wipe the tears off of my face. "I _love_ you!" I practically scream it. "I have _always_ loved you. And I'm sorry that it ended the way that it did. If I could do it all over again ... Gods, things would be _different_, and you would know."

I feel a cool wind whistle through my hair, and I wrap my arms around my body to ward against the chill. A starflower falls from one of the enormous starflower trees and lands at my feet. It glittered and winks at me, and for a moment I wonder if it's mocking me … and then I kneel to pick it up.

As I am straightening back up, I hear a whisper behind me. "Rikku ... Turn around."

I do ... and once again I fall to my knees.

xoxoxox

"Get up," he says, his voice as wonderfully gruff as it ever was.

"But ... but ... _how_?" I finally manage to ask. My voice is little more than a croak at this point.

He shrugs, and I notice for the first time that he is without his big red coat. I have the sudden urge to run my hands along his biceps; instead I bite my lip and stand up, slowly and carefully. He closes the distance between us in no time. I shiver at his nearness.

"Auron, I'm scared," I tell him before I _mean_ to tell him. "I was stupid before, and it cost me _everything_. I don't want to lose you again."

"You won't," he says in his no-nonsense manner. "I'm not leaving you again. Not without a fight."

I smile, finally, and throw myself into his arms. "I can hear your heartbeat. It's beating awfully fast." I look up at him, a sly twinkle in my eyes.

"Want to hear it beat faster?" he asks. And with that, he kneels down and kisses me.

_At last_.


	4. Self Conclusion

**A/N: This one is definitely what I would consider _dark_. It's quite angsty, and, if you couldn't tell from the title, the subject matter is suicide. I rate this one a T, because of that.**

_**Self-Conclusion**_

I've always been more drawn to the desert ... heat, aridity, blazing sun ... yeah, that was the ticket to true happiness for me. But lately ... lately it's been _water _calling to me. Couldn't tell you why, but I'd bet you it has something to do with _him_. Maybe because water seems to lead me to the most important moments in my life.

I was at the beach, swimming, when that fiend attacked me, and my dumbass brother hit me with that lightning spell, henceforth solidifying my terror of all things that go _crash!_ and _boom!_

It was on the airship salvage mission that I met Tidus ... I didn't realize how important he would actually be to me until much later. I thought he was just some crazy kid who got too close to Sin.

And of course, it was by the Moonflow, after getting the living daylights kicked out of me and my machina by Tidus and Wakka that I met _him_. The Legendary One. The _only_ one, really. It was then that my world got turned all topsy-turvy.

He wanted to see my face ... my eyes. I showed him what he already knew, but had to see for himself. But the second my swirled green eyes met his one working golden-brown eye, it was over. It was written, one-hundred percent complete before either of us could speak again.

"You are certain?" he had asked me.

I replied the only way I knew how. "One hundred percent!" Cheerful. Bouncy. Trying so hard to be myself in the face of such power and scrutiny. I couldn't tell you why, but I wanted ... no, I _needed_ him to accept me. To like me. To ... well, to be honest, I didn't really know what else. Not then, anyway.

I didn't go to the Farplane, because we Al Bhed just don't believe in that sort of thing. He didn't go either. I didn't understand why. Surely, he'd want to see Braska and Jecht? Could it be that he was afraid?

Once everyone else had gone in, I asked him. "Does it scare you?"

He had harrumphed as if I were mentally challenged. He then looked at me, and this time, he seemed apologetic. "Not many things scare me any more, Rikku," he said gently.

My heart skipped a beat when he said my name. I liked the way it sounded, coming from his lips. "I don't guess that they would. There's probably not a lot that can take you, huh?" I sat beside him on the stairs, elbows resting on my knees, chin resting on my hands, looking up at him.

Auron just shook his head. He uncorked his sake jug and took a long swig. "No, not much," he said, almost laughingly.

"Well," I said, holding out my hand so that he might give me a taste of his sake.

To my surprise, he did, begrudging though it was. "I doubt you'll like it much," he told me.

"Hmph," I mocked him, taking the jug. I defiantly took a large gulp, just as he had, and shuddered a bit at the burn of it down my throat. "Well," I repeated, remembering what it was I had started to say in the first place. "I'm sure there's something out there that still scares you, even now." Wow, were my words slurring, after just that little bit? What was _in_ that stuff? I handed him back his jug, and I could see the corner of his eyes crinkle up. Was he laughing?

He didn't tell me this for a long long time, but at that moment, he had started to fear _me_.

xoxoxox

I haven't been Home in a very long time. Not since we finished rebuilding it three years ago. I've been on Besaid, with Yunie, mostly. But now that Tidus is back, I spend a lot more time alone, down at the beach. I keep staring at the place that Tidus emerged from just a year ago, and I hope every day, that soon, I'll see Auron emerge from that place.

Is that the place that the Fayth send people back? Or is it different for everyone? I don't know ... so I guess I grasp onto the familiar.

I can't believe it's been _three years_. And I still can't believe all that happened, and has happened since then. Pop keeps telling me to settle down, and start a family, like everyone else I know is doing. It's funny ... two years ago, I was _ready_. I wanted it so bad I could taste it.

And now ... now I don't want anything. If it doesn't come tall and strong, built like a god, wearing red and wielding a katana ... I don't want it. And unfortunately, this doesn't leave me with a whole lot of options.

Sighing, I stared out across the vast azure of the sea as all the key moments of us replayed in my mind. What had once seemed like so many memories, now seemed to be not enough.

The man I thought would never die had been dead the entire time I had known him.

I picked up a round seashell and tossed it into the sea, watching it skip along the surface, before turning away and heading back toward the village.  
_  
_

xoxoxox

The Thunder Plains were _not _my finest couple of days. Which is why it was a relief to be out of them, and into Macalania. Macalania ... there was a lot of water there, too. A lake, in fact, frozen as it was. And it was at Lake Macalania that things really changed.

But I digress. We were in Macalania, and finally, _finally_, we got to rest. Which was good, because that Spherimorph was one nasty piece of work. Yunie healed everyone, and we all sat around. Yuna sat with Lulu, and the two of them talked in low tones. Kimahri stood like a sentinel, watching his summoner like a hawk. Tidus and Wakka sat on the other side of the lobby, watching Yuna and Lulu, and talking about blitzball or something equally as pointless.

This left me sitting with Auron. Not that I'm complaining, mind you. But he seemed preoccupied with something, and kept giving me the strangest looks. It was sort of disconcerting, considering that pretty much the entire way through the woods, we had walked together, and shared many conversations. It was nice, and _he_ was nice. Truly.

Maybe he felt sorry that he had been so nice to me. Oh, no! Stone-cold warriors didn't befriend perky little Al Bhed girls. Perhaps he was having remorse for his actions. I sincerely hoped not, because I would've given anything to continue this friendship with him.

After resting for a few hours, we left the travel agency. Seymour Guado's lackey came up and took Yuna with him, saying we would be sent for later. And that's when my dumbass brother showed up to wreck the day.

I mean, we _easily_ pummeled him and his stupid friends, but the battle that ensued afterward was much worse. I had known that Wakka hadn't been the bestest friend to the Al Bhed, but the things he said ... they really hurt. I could feel the tears stinging the backs of my eyes, but I was determined not to cry in front of him.

Suddenly, the voice of my salvation broke in. "Rikku! Will this move?" I spun on my heel and gave Auron what I was sure had to be the most adoring, fawning look ever. But I didn't care. He had just saved my dignity.

I ran over to him, and kept my face down as I tinkered with the machina. I didn't want him to see how very near tears I was. I heard Wakka toss a few more disparaging remarks at me before he skulked off by himself. Kimahri sped by on one of the scooters, followed quickly by Tidus and Lulu.

"Rikku," Auron's voice said carefully, after the others were gone. "Rikku, look at me."

I shook my head, staring intently at my shoes. It didn't work.

He tilted my face up with one finger. I bit my lips as I felt the tears spill over and run down my cheeks. I reached up to brush them away, but Auron beat me to it. With his thumb, he gently wiped the teardrops off my cheeks. His hand rested on my face longer than was necessary. Ever so lightly, his thumb caressed my lips, and I boldly kissed his fingertips.

He looked at me bemusedly for a minute, his hand dropping to my shoulder. "At some point," he told me very seriously, "I am going to have to kiss you."

I looked up at him, eyes wide with expectancy. He just laughed.

"Not yet," he said, more to himself than to me, climbing onto the snowmobile.

I shook my head and exhaled the breath I didn't even know I'd been holding. "_Tysh oui_," I muttered, climbing on and starting the machine.

xoxoxox

Well, sorry to disappoint, but that kiss ... it never happened. So much happened after that, what with the killing of Maester Seymour, the destruction of my Home, Yunie's imminent death in Zanarkand, and finding out that Auron was an unsent, that kisses sort of went by the wayside.

But Yunie didn't die in Zanarkand ... and Tidus figured out a way to save her ... and Spira. I guess that was what he was supposed to do, after all. His story, and all that. Guess that crazy kid really _was_ a hero. Go figure.

So we beat Sin ... saved the world. And my world disappeared in a cloud of pyreflies that left behind the scent of sake for only a brief moment after he was gone.

I kept hoping for a miracle ... that maybe there was some sort of mistake. Especially after Tidus came back. But, once again, no such luck.

So now I'm alone. Everyone has someone ... but I don't. Maybe I'm drawn to the water because I simply want a way to be free of it all. I know that I haven't been myself lately, and it hurts me to know that the cheerful, optimistic little girl of yesterday will never be coming back.

My skin is cold, and there is no one to hold me and make me warm. My eyes feel like they will drown in all my tears. My arms are empty, I have no one to embrace. And my lips ... they still tingle with the anticipation of a kiss that had never happened.

I needed that kiss.

xoxoxox

The decision was an easy one to make, really. Everyone here was happy, taken care of, loved. I knew that Yunie would be hurt, at first, but she had Tidus, and together, they would be all right. Me? I had nobody. Pop was disappointed with me, Brother was never around ... everyone had someone. And I had someone too. I just ... had to go to him.

I wasn't thinking of it as _dying_. I just … had to go to him. And it wouldn't take long.

I walked out into the water slowly. Let it lap over my feet and up around my ankles. I took a deep breath. The water was warm, inviting. This would be easy. I kept swimming ... deeper and deeper into the blue abyss. _Soon, _I kept telling myself. Soon all of this would be over, and I would be free at last.

I saw the exact point where the ocean floor dropped off into a deep trench ... just a few more feet. I heard the sound of splashing behind me, but I paid it no mind. I was so far out now, that no one would be able to see me from the beach.

I swam the final few inches and then stopped. I let the water wash over my head. I didn't try to swim to the surface, I just let myself sink. I opened my mouth and swallowed the seawater ... and my world began to go dark. I vaguely remembered strong arms grabbing me, but at that point, it didn't matter any more.

xoxoxox

I woke some time later, on dry land. I looked around, getting my first glimpse of the Farplane. Funny ... it looked a lot like Tidus and Yuna's hut. And ... why was _Yuna_ here? She was sitting at my bedside, looking at me with terror-filled eyes. I tried sitting up, but the headache I got was truly massive. What was going on? I was dead, wasn't I?

"What are you doing here?" I asked her, lying back down in defeat.

"I live here," Yuna replied. "Rikku, what were you doing out there?"

I closed my eyes and sighed in defeat. "I was going to see Auron," I mumbled feebly.

"No, Rikku, you were trying to kill yourself!" Yuna was as mad as I'd ever seen her. "Oh, Rikku, _why_?"

"I wasn't … trying to … _kill_ myself," I said slowly, realizing for the first time that that was _exactly _what I'd been doing. I was mortified. "Oh … Yunie. I'm so … sorry. I didn't even … _think_. I just … wanted so badly to … Why am I still here? How?"

"You were rescued," Yuna said gently, brushing the hair off my forehead.

"By who?" I asked, my eyes still closed. My head was pounding, my body ached.

"That was an absolutely ridiculous idea, Rikku. Did you really think that the Fayth would allow Lady Yuna's cousin to drown herself?"

The voice caused my eyes to fly open. Sure enough, standing in the doorway of the room, stood Auron. "But ... but _how_?" I asked.

"Someone had to save you, and it seemed that I was the only one who could do it," Auron replied.

"You ... you're back?" I squeaked. "Because of me?"

"Get up," he told me roughly.

"Sir Auron, she's still very weak," Yuna protested on my behalf.

Auron didn't care. "Get up," he said again, looking at me pointedly.

I swallowed hard, but followed his orders. I followed him out of the room, and out of the hut, all the way back down to the beach. He didn't say anything the whole time. We stood at the water's edge and it was then that he spoke. "Why the _hell_ would you do something like that?" he practically roared.

I took a deep breath. "I just … wanted to see you. I wasn't thinking clearly. I just started walking. I've been so lost since you ..." I didn't finish that sentence. I wasn't sure if I was ready to admit the extent of my feelings to him.

"Since I was sent?" he finished for me gruffly.

I sighed. "Well, yeah," I admitted. "I mean, you left so much unfinished."

"Such as?" he pried.

"Well ... you told me you were going to kiss me," I told him bashfully. "And you never did. And for some reason, that just left this big hole in me."

He turned to me, and grabbed me roughly by the arms. Without any ceremony or notice, he crushed his lips down on mine. The kiss deepened until I wanted to explode. He pulled away from me, his breathing as ragged as mine, his expression as bewildered.

I just looked up at him. "Why are you back?" I finally managed to ask.

"To save you," he told me simply.

"You already did that," I pointed out.

"Well, then, maybe you can save me," he said quietly.

We shared another kiss ... and another, and another ... in fact, Auron and I shared a lifetime of kisses after that.

Yeah, we did, in fact, live happily ever after ...


	5. Perfect

**A/N: Rated K+. Nothing too crazy here. Just how Rikku might have gone about confessing certain things to Auron, shortly before the fight with Sin.**

_**Perfect**_

My colorless, lifeless airship cabin was _so_ not the place I envisioned having this conversation. Well, okay, to be perfectly honest with you, I never really thought I'd be having this conversation at _all_, but what are you gonna do? I mean, when you have a crush on a guy, you don't usually have to run right out and tell him right away. You can take your time, feel him out. See if he likes you back. But this case was a little bit different.

Mainly 'cuz the guy in question was dead.

Yeah ... I sure know how to pick 'em. Well, to be fair to me, I hadn't _known_ he was dead when I fell for him. And I'd been planning on just going with the flow. But we'd fought that evil bitch-whore Yunalesca in Zanarkand, and we found out some pretty messed-up stuff. Like the guy I was in love with was sort of already dead.

So this really wasn't a conversation that I wanted to be having. But I'd gotten him here and he was staring at me like I'd grown a second head. (I hadn't. I totally looked in the mirror because he was looking at me so funny that I thought maybe I _had _… Okay, now I'm just rambling.)

I was nervous, but this had to be done. We were days away from fighting Sin -- days away from him fading into nothingness. I couldn't let him fade into nothingness without saying _anything_.

I had too much energy built-up in me to stay sitting still, so I hopped up and paced around the room, biting my bottom lip and playing with the feathers in my hair.

"Rikku," he said warningly, glowering at me from over the top of his glasses.

"Okay. You have to let me talk, no interruptions! This is hard enough to say," I began, still pacing. "I know that after we fight Sin, you're going to -- fade. And I know that nothing I say will change that. But that doesn't matter right now." I finally stopped moving and looked at him. I wondered for just a split second if my swirly green Al Bhed eyes had any kind of effect on him.

"All right." I took a deep breath. "I've -- I've had a, kind of, uh, a crush on you for a while now." I quickly glanced at him, expecting to see him looking disgusted or smug or maybe both. To my extreme surprise, he didn't look either. He looked ... thoughtful. "But lately, it's become more. I'm ... well, I think I might be -- uh, ummm -- inlovewithyou." I squeezed my eyes shut and tried to calm my shaky nerves.

"Rikku," Auron began.

I shook my head and held up my hand. "No, I know what you're going to say, and I just don't want to hear it."

"Doesn't that seem a little childish?" he asked cautiously.

"Hey, buddy, I think I'm allowed a little childishness! I just confessed my love to a _dead_ man, you know?" I exclaimed.

"Which begs the question -- why?" Auron replied.

I knelt down in front of him, determined to be a grown-up about this. I took one of his hands in both of mine. "Because I know that your life has been hard. I know that there have been very few people to really care about you. I -- I don't know what happens to a person after they die, but if you remember things, I want you to remember that at one point in your existence, someone loved you with all her heart." Tears began to prick at my eyes, so I blinked them back. I'd cry later, after he was really gone.

"The extreme humiliation that I feel right now is so not important. It doesn't even matter, you know? What matters is that I would hate myself forever if I didn't tell you this before you were gone. I would give up everything I have if it meant I could change things for you. I just wanted you to know, Auron." I forced myself to look up at him. I saw something on his face that I had so not expected.

Tenderness.

"Rikku -- may I speak now?" he asked. I nodded. "Rikku, I don't know what will happen after I'm gone, but I do know that if I have memories, this will be my favorite."

My head shot up. "Huh?"

"No one has ever looked at me the way that you are looking at me right now. Honestly, I never thought that anyone would. And I thought that it didn't matter. I didn't need anyone to love me, I was above it. Rikku." He looked at me then, really looked at me. "I was wrong."

"Then ... I guess I'm glad that I told you," I replied. "I'm never going to forget you -- no matter what happens in the future. You'll always have a place here." I put my hand over my heart. "Thanks for not, like, pointing and laughing." I stood up and turned to go, but he still had hold of my hand.

"Well, I suppose that it's only fair that I tell you something, then," he said. I paused and looked at him quizzically. "I think you're an amazing woman. I know I've been gruff and impatient with you, but the truth is, you … _astound _me. You're lovely, clever, intuitive, resourceful. Everything I could ever want, and if things were different, if I were alive ..."

I couldn't hold back my tears now. But they were _happy _tears. I wanted to jump up and down and whoop out loud, but if I did that, he might take back every single nice thing he had just said about me.

He didn't think that I was just some silly little girl! He thought things about me that I didn't expect anyone to _ever _think about me. The tears ran in rivers down my cheeks as I stood there facing this man who had listened to me pour my heart out, and who ended up feeling the same way.

"Rikku," Auron said gently. I looked up and saw that he had removed his cowl, coat, and glasses. This was the first time I'd seen him without all that material covering him. He was more beautiful than anything I ever could've imagined.

Without thinking, I reached up and lightly touched his scar.

"Kiss me," he said suddenly.

I looked at him, completely shocked, and I saw by his expression that he was just as stunned that he'd _actually _said that.

I laughed then, I couldn't help it. And soon he joined in and for a long time, we just stood there, giggling until tears were running down my cheeks. He stopped suddenly, and I turned to look at him, suddenly feeling shy. He lifted me up off the ground and into his strong arms.

Even though he's been gone for almost a year, I know I'm not alone. And I know that he remembers me. Don't ask me how, it's just a feeling I have. Sometimes the wind seems to whisper my name in his voice.

Someday we might be together again. Until then, I know that we gave each other the only thing we could --

One _perfect _memory.


	6. Sparks

**A/N: Okay, this one, and the next one, are both rated M. You are warned right now for lemony-goodness between Auron and Rikku. If you don't want to read it, don't. I'm not forcing anyone, and I'm reallllly not trying to be hateful. I just understand that this is not everyone's cup of tea, and I don't want anyone to say it snuck up on them and squicked them out. There is no sneaking. BLATANT SMUT AHOY. :) **

_**Sparks**_

"Rikku!" His voice was like a godsend at that moment, saving her from the hell that was happening in front of her. "Will this go?"

Rikku turned around and plastered a fake smile on her face, even though her heart felt shattered. Yeah, yeah, she'd known that Wakka hadn't been the bestest friend to the Al Bhed for a while now, but she'd never thought he'd be so cruel.

She bounded over to the older guardian all the while looking up at him, gratefulness radiating from her green eyes. She reached out and began tinkering with the machina snowmobiles that her stupid-ass brother and his stupid-ass friends had left behind. She managed to get it running again, and shared an amused glance with Auron as they watched Kimahri speed off on his own machine.

Tidus and Lulu hopped onto another one, and sped off toward the temple. Wakka, huffy and outraged, began marching towards the temple, acting like he was some kind of martyr or something. Rikku took a deep breath once everyone else was gone, and smiled a bit to herself when she felt Auron's gloved hand on her shoulder.

It wasn't common knowledge, this _thing_ that had started between them ... in fact, they didn't really even want to admit it to themselves. But it was there, every time they looked at each other, when their hands accidentally touched across the table at dinner. They just _sparked_ ... She thought that maybe it'd had been that way from the beginning.

Rikku felt the heat rising to her cheeks, and was glad that her back was turned to him, so he wouldn't see. "Thank you," she finally said, quietly, as she climbed on the snowmobile. She raised her eyebrows at him, and nodded her head, motioning him to hop on behind her.

He did without comment. He didn't touch her at first, and she swiveled her hips to look at him, a movement that caused her backside to grind against him enticingly, even though she hadn't meant to. "Um, you might want to hold on," she said cautiously, aware that her ass was nestled firmly between his thighs. She tried not to think about it too much.

"Hold on to what?" Auron asked, looking at the machina, and studying her face carefully.

Rikku took a deep breath. "You're gonna have to hold on ... to me," she informed him in a low tone. Auron's eyebrow arched. Rikku blew out a frustrated breath. "Look, if you don't, you're gonna go flying off the back, and I really don't want to have to pick your broken and mangled body up off the ice. Don't even think I _could_ ... So would you just hold me?"

That twinkle of amusement sparked in his eye again. It was a look he only seemed to get around her, and it wasn't the first time that Rikku had wondered why. "If my lady wishes," Auron said solemnly. Rikku couldn't tell for sure, because that stupid cowl was in the way, but she was pretty sure that he was smiling.

"Yes, thank you," she said as she started the machina's engine. Her body clenched when she felt his strong hands encircle her waist, and she unconsciously straightened her back. His hands met right at her belly button, where that tiny bit of her midriff was exposed. The leather gloves on her bare skin sent tingles through her body.

Auron was perfectly comfortable with this arrangement. It wasn't as though he hadn't thought of doing just this ... holding her ... since the first time he'd seen her. He had just never known how to go about it. But this ... this was the perfect opportunity. She was so near him, he could smell her hair, and the scent was intoxicating. His hands were on the bare flesh of her midriff, and he found himself wishing that he wasn't wearing gloves.

He didn't have a lot of time to think on the situation, because at that moment, Rikku hit a small bump in the path. It sent his hands flying upward, and they unwittingly brushed across her breasts.

Rikku's eyes widened, but she didn't turn around. He had moved his hands back down to her waist almost immediately, but she couldn't really deny that it hadn't been terrible. Suddenly, she felt lips very near her ear. "Rikku," he said in that low, rumbly voice of his. The sensation sent shivers down her spine, and she found that she was having trouble remembering how to drive.

"Mmm?" she said, turning her head slightly, to look at him. She found that her face was only inches from his.

"Stop the machina."

Rikku did as she was told without a second thought. She pulled the snowmobile off to the side of the path and cut the engine. Then, she just sat there, not knowing what exactly was going to happen next. Auron still sat, with his arms around her waist, not moving.

Finally, Rikku couldn't take it. She stood up and moved to the side of the snowmobile. "What's going on?" she asked in a shaky voice.

Auron took her hand and turned her around to face him. "There's something that I need to do," he said carefully.

Rikku nodded, completely aware of the situation. "Good," she said, sighing with relief. "Me too." Cautiously, she reached out with one hand and undid the clasps holding Auron's cowl. She pulled off the offending garment, tossed it aside, and smiled when she got her first real, true look at his face. "_Much_ better," she conceded with a grin. She placed her hand on his slightly stubbled cheek and rubbed her thumb across his lips.

Kneeling down so that her face was level with his, she looked him in the eye. "I hope this is the same thing you were thinking ... because I'm gonna do it anyway," she whispered, just seconds before she brushed her lips against his, ever so lightly.

Auron's arms circled back around her midsection, his hands roamed along her back. He pulled her down, positioning her across his lap. He kissed her hungrily, devouring her with his mouth. Rikku sighed and gave a tiny little moan, gyrating her hips against his groin.

Growling low in his throat, he impatiently tugged off his gloves, tossing them to the side of the machine. His bare hands snaked underneath Rikku's shirt, until his fingers found the warm, fleshy mounds of her breasts.

She arched her back when his thumb flicked across one of her nipples. "Mmm, Auron," she whispered into his mouth. She could feel his want for her growing with every kiss and caress.

"Oh, my Gods," he groaned, relishing the feel of her soft, supple skin beneath his fingertips. It was all he could do to keep from tearing off her clothes and devouring her with his mouth.

Rikku couldn't imagine ever stopping. This had been building from the moment that they met, and now, it was like glorious release. She was nearly coming from his kisses alone. His tongue slid in and out of her mouth, sending shockwaves of desire through her body. If he said the word, he could take her, right then and there.

His hands were kneading her breasts, and he let one hand venture lower, to the juncture of her thighs. His fingers slid inside her, and she moved her hips in rhythm with his hand. He brought her to the brink, and then deftly flicked his thumb across her most sensitive of spots, causing her to orgasm violently.

She cried out, not caring if anyone heard her. What he was doing ... it felt so good, and she never wanted it to stop. "Oh, please ..." she begged, not really knowing what she was begging for. "Auron ..."

He knew what she wanted. And he very nearly did it ... but then he realized that he was contemplating taking her on the back of this snowmobile. The thought didn't disgust him, there was a time and place for everything ... but he wanted so much better for the _first_ time with her. "Rikku," he said breathlessly, pulling away from her.

She looked up at him, eyes glassy and full of passion for him. It made him even harder, that look in her green spirals, but he knew ... that it was wrong. "What? Why ... why did you stop?"

"Because, Rikku, I want you so much," he explained.

Rikku laughed, and leaned in to kiss him again. "Silly," she whispered in his ear, kissing his neck. "We're taking care of that ..."

"No, Rikku," he said firmly, placing his hands on her hips. "I can't do this to you here," he said solemnly. "Because I want you so much, I want this moment to be better for you."

Rikku's heart melted all over again. "Oh, Auron," she said, falling into his arms in a warm embrace. "I think I just fell in love with you."

Auron smiled and kissed her softly again. "Then we're on the same page," he told her.

"You better not forget ... we have unfinished business," Rikku told him, as she straightened herself out, and turned back around on the machina.

"Don't worry," he told her with a slight chuckle as she started the engine. "There's no way in hell I'll be forgetting _this_ obligation."


	7. Nothing Sacred

**A/N: I wrote this YEARS ago. It was my _first smut-fic ever_. And I finally, after much tweaking, feel like sharing it here. Again, you are warned for mature content between Auron and Rikku. Don't like, don't read. RATED MOST-DEFINITELY M.**

_**Nothing Sacred**__  
_

_Too young ... too young._ It was like a mantra, running through his mind, over and over again until he thought he would go absolutely insane. But it was the truth. She was just a girl. Young, and perfect, and unspoiled, or so he thought, having no idea of the hardships she had truly endured. And he knew everything about what he was feeling was wrong ... he should be beyond all of these things.

He was _dead_, after all. 

It didn't matter, though. Not one bit. It wouldn't keep him from her.

They'd been in Macalania forest for several days now. The woods were dark and unyielding, and even moving quickly, it could take a good week to get through them. Every night, the group camped somewhere different, someplace near the water that was so abundant in the shimmering forest.

Several days and several nights. And it was always the same. She'd take her watch, and he would pretend to doze until he was sure that everyone else was sleeping. And then he would join her, and they would sit on the low bough of one of the monstrous Macalanian trees.

At first, they hadn't spoken. Rikku had been bewildered, and a little irritated. What? Did he think she couldn't handle herself all alone on watch? Tonight, however, she was tired of it, and she asked him what his problem was, and he looked hurt. He hadn't realized that she would take his advances that way.

"No, Rikku," he said softly. "I just enjoy your company."

Rikku's green eyes widened at that. "_My_ company?" she squeaked. "You want to be out here, with me, just _because_?"

Auron nodded, not meeting her dazzling eyes. He felt nervous around her, which was a first for him. Never, in his entire existence, had anyone made him feel as ill-at-ease as she did. It was a strange experience for him, but it also made him feel alive. That wasn't something that happened very often.

Rikku bit her lip and looked out into the darkness. Thinking, thinking ... what was she supposed to do now? She knew what she _wanted _to do ... but did she dare? She wasn't sure if it was friendship he desired ... or something else?

Finally, she took a deep breath and met his golden brown eye with her spiraled orbs. _What the hell? _she reasoned. _This chance may never come again._ _And it's what I've wanted since, well, since I first saw him ..._ "Okay, then. Um ... I'm pretty sure I just heard a ... a fiend out there," she pointed in a random direction and hopped off of the branch. "Want to come ... check it out with me? Make sure it's not dangerous?"

There was a glint in her eyes, a teasing glint, and Auron caught on immediately. "Right," he said gruffly. "We should go investigate it immediately."

Rikku smiled beguilingly over her shoulder and led him away from the camp. She swayed her hips exaggeratedly as she walked in front of him, hoping that she was having the desired effect on the older guardian. If she was really going to go through with this ... well, then she was going to do it right. And it seemed that she would have to be the one in charge here ... well, that didn't bother her. In fact, she kind of preferred it that way.

Her "plan" was working perfectly. Auron had been denied so many things in his years as a monk, and there hadn't been any _appealing_ offers on Braska's pilgrimage. And after his death, in Zanarkand, the thought had never even occurred to him. But he'd gone and done the one thing he had sworn he'd never do ... he fell in love on Yuna's pilgrimage. To a tiny, self-assured Al Bhed princess. And she had no idea. 

To say this was unchartered territory for him was an understatement. But it was damned emasculating to think that she would be the one leading him. Not if he had anything to do with it.

Once they were at a safe distance from camp, Auron grabbed Rikku roughly by the upper arms and spun her around so fast that she let out a little squeak. It was all he needed. Without a further thought, he crushed his mouth down on hers. It wasn't a gentle kiss at all. He was damn through being stoic and cautious.

Rikku's eyes widened in shock initially, but then she realized how soft his lips were against hers, and she melted against him. Letting a tiny sigh escape, she gave Auron just the opening he was looking for, and he snaked his tongue between her lips to mate with hers.

Rikku's tiny hands worked quickly as she undid the belts and clasps that kept his long red coat fastened securely around his body. She discarded the garment on the ground behind them, and wasted no time in running her hands along the taut muscles of his biceps.

Breaking away from their kiss, Rikku cocked an eyebrow teasingly. "So, _this_ is what's been hiding underneath that stupid coat all this time," she murmured. "Kinda makes me wonder what _else_ you've been keeping secreted away."

"Hmph," Auron half-grunted, half-chuckled. Her tiny, soft hands had found their way to the button on his pants, and she had them undone before he even knew what hit him.

Sighing, she made a soft clicking noise with her tongue. "You really are far too overdressed for this, Sir Auron," she said coyly, as she slipped the black leather shirt he wore over his head, revealing his perfectly sculpted abdomen. Her fingers trailed lightly over the scar that ran down the right side of his abdomen.

He sucked in his breath ... no one had ever touched him like this. She stopped and looked up at him, for once feeling very protective towards him, instead of vice-versa. "Are you okay?" she whispered, suddenly terrified that she had made a huge mistake.

In answer, he pulled her back into his arms and brought his lips down to hers again. "Gods, Rikku," he said in bewilderment when they broke apart. He was shaking ever-so-slightly, but Rikku felt it.

Rikku smiled softly and backed away. She blinked in seeming innocence, reached up and pulled her hair out of it's ponytail. The long golden locks spilled across her shoulders, and hung down over her breasts. Auron stared at her in wonderment. Not hesitating, for fear that she'd lose her nerve under the scrutiny of the man who meant so much to her, she quickly undid the buckles on the side of her shirt, and then closed her eyes as she reached up over her head and pulled it off. She tossed it over by Auron's coat, and froze. She couldn't bring herself to open her eyes.

It wasn't as though she'd never done this before. She had. The age of maturity and consent among the Al Bhed was fourteen. She knew girls her age who were married with babies. It was the way of their world … they lived in fear of Sin, they lived in fear of the Yevonites … but at least they _lived_.

So yes, she'd done _this _before, and more than once._ But_ she'd never done this with _Auron_. And Auron meant just about everything to her now, even though she hadn't wanted to admit it until just that moment.

"Rikku." Auron's voice broke her out of her reverie.

"Hmm?" she said nervously, eyes still squeezed shut, arms crossed over her breasts protectively.

"Look at me," he whispered, and Rikku felt an odd sense of déjà vu and comfort wash over her. She tilted her head up, and she heard his footsteps cross the ground between them. He carefully took her hands in his own, pulling them away from her body. "Open your eyes," he whispered, his face mere inches from her own.

Taking a deep breath, she did as she was told. His rough, calloused hand touched her cheek softly, and she turned her head to kiss his fingertips. "I don't know why I'm so nervous," she confessed with a small laugh.

He kissed her longingly then, and his hands reached up to cup her perfect breasts. Rikku sucked in her breath as he touched her, but he was so gentle, so careful, that she didn't have time to be afraid. He ran his thumbs over her already hard nipples.

She moaned softly into his mouth, and Auron pulled her closer to him, pressing their bodies together. He just wanted to feel her skin against his. "Are you certain?" she whispered in his ear. "Because I ... I don't really want to stop."

"Neither do I," he whispered back. "Rikku, I love you."

Rikku's eyes flew open at that, but he didn't give her time to answer him. Her back was up against the trunk of a tree, and Auron took her hands and held them above her head as he kissed her again. This time, he allowed his lips to trail down her jawline, to her neck, and finally to her breasts.

Her back arched when he took one of her nipples into his mouth and flicked it with his tongue. He did the same to the other, and she moaned again.

His hand trailed down to the junction between her thighs, and he could feel the heat and moisture through her shorts. Growling low in his throat, he pushed her shorts down her legs, and she stepped out of them. He plunged one of his fingers into her, and she cried out in ecstasy. "Oh, gods!"

Her hands trailed down his torso, and into the waistband of his trousers. Finally she grasped him in one hand, while tugging his pants off with the other. Her eyes widened when she got a good look at it. Yeah, it was true, all right ... the bigger the sword, the bigger the ...

He gasped at her touch, and at the way she moved her hand, and he knew that if they kept going, all of this would be over before he wanted it to be. And while it felt _amazing_, he knew that there was more to be done.

Without waiting, his strong hands grasped her ass firmly and lifted her off the ground. She wrapped her legs around him instinctively, and lowered herself onto his shaft. They were a perfect fit ... as if they had been _made_ for each other. Instinct took over for both of them at that point, and they moved their hips rhythmically.

The bark of the tree scraped against Rikku's back, but she didn't care. At this point, all that mattered was Auron ... inside of her, filling her up and making her completely whole for the first time in her life. And he loved her ... as she thought about this gorgeous man, loving her, she felt herself nearing the edge. She just needed one thing ...

"Auron, tell me you love me again," she whispered against his ear.

"Rikku, I love you," he cried out as he felt himself come within her.

Hearing his voice pushed her over the edge as well and she felt the waves of her orgasm rock her entire body. "Oh, _Auron_!" she breathed.

He released her lower body, and she slid down the trunk of the tree limply. She looked up at him with wide, bewildered eyes. "Whoa," she whispered imperceptibly.

"I apologize," he said, almost sheepishly, looking down at her.

"Apologize?" Rikku asked. "For what?" She began to worry that he regretted having sex with her.

But ... he _couldn't_ ... could he?

"I wanted it to be ... perfect, for you," he said.

Rikku stood up and looked at him in disbelief. "And what makes you think that wasn't? For your information, buddy, you happen to be just about the best ..."

He cut her off by kissing her again. "I feel like an amateur," he confessed.

She smiled at him, finally understanding. "Well ... that's okay," she said brightly. "Stick with me, and we'll have you going pro in no time."

He laughed heartily at her exuberance. "I meant it, you know," he said softly. "I do love you."

Rikku's features softened, and she crossed to him and placed her hand on his right cheek -- the scarred cheek. She caressed it lovingly. "Well, that works out pretty well, because I've been in love with you since the first time I saw you."

The way his face lit up when she said that warmed Rikku all the way to her toes. How sad, to be him, and to never have known love. Rikku vowed to make sure that he knew, every single day, that he was exceptionally loved.

They kissed again, and then dressed and returned to camp. It was almost time for Wakka's shift, and they knew they'd better be back or else have to make up excuses.

After that first night, it seemed as if they couldn't get enough of each other. And by the time they left Macalania, several days later, they really hadn't left too many places in the forest sacred ...


End file.
